Are you open to German theologians? Some of the persons cited (Marx, Hegel, etc.) would qualify as philosophers but make for fairly tedious reads. I would think that some of the theological literature would be more spiritually beneficial. Hegelian idealism isn't even fun to read in English.

If you have your heart set on a philospher, why not Nietzsche? Jenseits von Gut und Böse would be a resaonable choice. Nietzsche is always good for a happy yippy-skippy read (Not!). Still, he was quite important. Der Wille zur Macht has been cited so often by moderns that you might want to read it too, although it consisted of his notes edited by his sister.

I vote for something by a theologian rather than getting bogged down in 20th century German philosophy at all. But, if you want philosophy, try an earlier one such as Nietszche.

BTW, if you really want to see the logic of the father of liberal theology on display, Schleiermacher's Der christliche Glaube or (for an easier read) Aus Schleiermachers Leben in Briefen . Much of what Barth wrote in his Church Dogmatics was an attempt to counter Schleiermacher. For that matter, if you have infinite patience for dialetical reasoning, you could read Barth's Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. He was Swiss and KD is in German. I would recommend 4/1. If you want to read a commentary more about Barth than Paul, try his Römerbrief which made a huge historical splash in 1919.

__________________
Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

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